Political profile: Ursula von der Leyen

By Rodrigo Ferreira

Name: Ursula Gertrude von der Leyen

Born: 8 October 1958, Belgium

Nationality: German

Political party: Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

European political family: European People’s Party (EPP)

current position: President of the European Commission

In office since: 1 December 2019

Current mandate: 2024-2029

Ursula von der Leyen has served as President of the European Commission since 2019, becoming the first woman to hold the position. In July 2024, the European Parliament elected her for a second five-year mandate with 401 votes in favour and 284 against, and her second Commission formally took office on 1 December 2024.

Before moving into European politics, her career was almost entirely based in Germany. A CDU member since 1990, she served in Angela Merkel’s government as Minister for Family Affairs from 2005 to 2009, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, and Minister of Defence from 2013 until 2019. She also served as a member of the Bundestag from 2009 to 2019.

How did she become commission president?

European citizens do not directly elect the President of the European Commission. Following European Parliament elections, the European Council proposes a candidate for Commission President, taking the election result into account. That candidate then needs to win a majority in the European Parliament.

Von der Leyen was first elected in 2019. Ahead of the 2024 European elections, Germany’s CDU nominated her as the European People’s Party’s lead candidate for Commission President. Parliament subsequently elected her for a second term on 18 July 2024.

What power does she actually have?

The President determines the Commission’s political agenda, organises its work and allocates responsibilities among Commissioners. She also represents the Commission at European Council meetings, G7 and G20 summits and other major international meetings.

The Commission normally has the power to propose EU legislation, manage European programmes and policies, oversee implementation of the EU budget, and monitor whether Member States correctly apply EU law.

However, there is an important limit to her powers as president of the Commission. Von der Leyen cannot simply decide that a proposal becomes European law. In most areas, legislation proposed by the Commission must then be negotiated and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

So, simplified: Von der Leyen can strongly influence what reaches Europe’s legislative table, however, she cannot formally decide the final law alone.

Political perspective

As mentioned before, Von der Leyen belongs to Germany’s CDU and was the European People’s candidate for Commission President in 2024. Her current Commission agenda is officially organised around seven priorities: economic competitiveness and innovation; defence and security; Europe’s social model, food, water and nature; democracy and EU values; Europe’s global role; and reforms to prepare the Union for the future.

Her political emphasis has also evolved during her time in Brussels.

This said, her first mandate began with the European Green Deal as a central project, but it subsequently had to respond to Covid-19, the energy crisis, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Her second mandate has placed notably greater institutional emphasis on competitiveness, defence, security, economic resilience and European strategic capacity, while retaining climate objectives and the green transition within the Commission programme.

Her September 2026 State of the Union gives the most current picture. Von der Leyen presented her objective as building a stronger and more independent Europe. Proposals include completing further reform of the Single Market, reducing regulatory fragmentation, strengthening European security and defence capabilities, supporting Ukraine, improving climate resilience and expanding Europe’s capacity in areas such as technology, energy, and critical raw materials.

She also proposed creating a European Security Council involving EU members and potentially close non-EU partners, alongside a coordinated mechanism for responding to hybrid threats such as sabotage, cyberattacks and other forms of interference. These remain proposals rather than already-established institutions.

Major issues associated with her presidency

1.Covid-19 and vaccines

Her first Commission was heavily shaped by the pandemic. The Commission negotiated vaccine purchases on behalf of Member States, helped establish the EU Digital Covid Certificate, and participated in the European economic recovery response through programmes including NextGenerationEU.

Those vaccine negotiations later generated a major transparency dispute.

Von der Leyen exchanged text messages with Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, during vaccine negotiations. After the New York Times requested access to those messages, the Commission refused the request. In May 2025, the EU’s General Court annulled that refusal, finding that the Commission had not provided a convincing explanation regarding the existence and search for the messages.

The judgment concerned transparency and access to documents; it did not establish corruption or wrongdoing in the negotiation of the vaccine contracts.

2. Ukraine and european defence

Her Commision has strongly supported Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, while European defence has become progressively more prominent in her second mandate.

The Commission’s current programme includes initiatives intended to increase European defence investment and preparedness, as well as reduce strategic dependencies.

3. Parliamentary scrutiny

The Commission remains politically accountable to the European Parliament. In July 2025, Parliament considered a motion of censure against von der Leyen’s Commission. It was rejected by 360 votes against the motion, 175 in favour and 18 abstentions. A successful motion would have required both a two-thirds majority of votes cast and a majority of all MEPs.

This is also a useful reminder that although Commission Presidents are not directly elected by European voters, they depend on parliamentary support to enter office and their Commission can collectively be removed by Parliament under the treaties.

Why does her position matter?

The Commission President sits at a particularly important point in the EU system because the Commission can turn political priorities into legislative proposals. That means decisions made under von der Leyen’s presidency can eventually reach areas including energy, digital regulation, climate policy, competition, migration, trade, agriculture and industrial policy. Commission proposes and implements, Parliament represents citizens, national governments negotiate through the Council, and the European Council sets wider political direction.

Understanding von der Leyen therefore also means understanding the limits of the title “President”.